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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

For Men Only aka Hot Girls for Men Only [Blu-ray]

 

(Pete Walker, 1968)

 
Pete Walker is a British film director, writer and producer, who, in the 60s and 70s, confined his output to primarily horror and sexploitation films, often blurring the line and overlapping the two genres. Walker's work was initially dismissed as pedestrian, however some contemporary critics, found enlightened and challenging subtexts in his oeuvre of commercially-made exploitation films. As with Hammer Studios Walker's film are being revisited. The latter for their social relevance which frequently contained attractive young women at odds with the moral codes of mainstream society. He has stated "All I wanted to do was create a bit of mischief."

Walker's work is being recognized on Blu-ray by Kino (Redemption), BFI and others. A list is below:

 

For Men Only (1968)

Man of Violence (1969)

The Comeback

 (1978)

Die Screaming, Marianne

(1971)

The Flesh and Blood Show

(1972)

Frightmare (1974)

House of Whipcord

 (1974)

House of Mortal Sin (1976)

Schizo

(1976)

Home Before Midnight (1979)

House of the Long Shadows

 (1983)

The Pete Walker Collection I

The Pete Walker Collection II

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Pete Walker Film Productions

Video: Kino Lorber

 

Disc:

Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 0:39:56.977

Disc Size: 48,374,501,111 bytes

Feature Size: 8,923,797,504 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.99 Mbps

Chapters: 9

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: May 17th, 2016

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

Dolby Digital Audio English 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps)

 

Subtitles:

None

 

Extras:

• School For Sex (1:20:32.577 / 17,991,794,688 bytes / 27.99 Mbps / 1.85:1)

• Get Cheeky with Pete Walker, an interview documentary by Elijah Drenner (8:48)
 • School for Sex trailer (2:58)
 • School for Sex alternate continental footage (13:35)
 • Glamour Loops: Rare black-and-white nudie films made by Pete Walker (1:02:59.609 / 15,504,427,008 bytes / 30.59 Mbps / 1.33:1)

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: Before becoming the director of some of British cinema's most gruesome horror films (such as Frightmare, House of Mortal Sin, and The Flesh and Blood Show), Pete Walker was a pioneer of the distinctively British sexploitation genre known as slap and tickle. As the codes of censorship began to relax in the mid-1960s, Walker was among the few enterprising filmmakers brazen enough to cater to the public's appetite for sexploitation, first as a burlesque club comedian, then as the producer of 8mm stag films for the collector's market (visually stark and gritty, but relatively tame by today's standards). Eventually, Walker made the transition to theatrical films, and his long and tumultuous career as a director was set in motion. An extended short, FOR MEN ONLY explores the naughty goings-on behind the scenes at the Puritan Magazine Group, a family-friendly publishing company that hides a tantalizing secret. In SCHOOL FOR SEX a smash hit when it appeared on the screens in London's West End a wealthy playboy (Derek Aylward) opens a finishing school for devious young women. This edition presents the standard UK cut, as well as more explicit nude scenes intended for release in more sexually liberated markets.

 

 

The Film:

Coming in at only 38 minutes long, For Men Only stars David Kernon (Carry On Abroad) as Freddie Horne(!), a women’s fashion magazine journalist whose choice of career doesn’t sit too well with his fiancé Rosalie (Andrea Allan – Old Drac). To try and appease her Freddie takes a job arranged by Rosalie’s father with the Puritan Magazine Group, a publishing company looking to uphold the morals of the nation and promote family values. However, when the chief executive invites Freddie to his country mansion he reveals that the real money maker for the Puritan Magazine Group is a specialist men’s magazine called – you guessed it – For Men Only. As you would expect, Freddie enjoys the company of the scantily clad beauties that hang around the mansion but it isn’t long before Rosalie comes looking for her fiancé and much hilarity ensues.

Excerpt from FlickeringMyth.com located HERE

Walker's sex comedy School for Sex burst onto the screen and out of its bras. Giles is a swindler who is found guilty of fraud but gets a suspended sentence after his lawyer explains how he has been down on his luck with women and money lately. So he walks straight out of court and into a live nudie show with his pal with whom he plans to open a school to teach girls how to bilk rich men out of money. So who will be his professors? Why a bunch of other ne'er-do-wells, of course. And who will be the students? Cute little parolee ex-convicts, DUH!

Excerpt from Cinespoitation located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

The dual-layered Kino Lorber Blu-ray transfer of For Men Only looks pretty strong in 1080P. The content has a supportive bitrate but without restoration is at the mercy of the elements used. Colors in For Men Only are bright although contrast may have limitations (density of the source.) The source is clean, and generally better than I thought with a few less-consistent sequences. School for Sex looks much weaker (see screen captures below) with quality having even more variations throughout. This Blu-ray video is what it is - and I don't blame Kino's transfer - certainly watchable with inherent limitations of the prints utilized.

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Unfortunately, the Blu-ray's audio is lossy. So it's unremarkable - both film's scores are by Harry South and they can delve into a lighter tone. There are no subtitles offered and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

 

Extras :

Part of the package is the hour-20-minute long School For Sex (17,991,794,688 bytes / 27.99 Mbps / 1.85:1) and it doesn't look great showing some inconsistencies. We also get some supplements - Get Cheeky with Pete Walker is a 9-minute interview with the director by Elijah Drenner and it exposes some of the production evolution. There is a trailer for School for Sex and 13-minutes of alternate continental footage of School for Sex. Glamour Loops are over an hour's worth of rare black-and-white nudie films made by Pete Walker and resemble old stag films - with quality being as poor as you might expect.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
I had never seen For Men Only but I wasn't particularly shocked and it was about what I expected. yes, at  times I thought of Benny Hill but it had a semblance of a story and it was actually decently realized. Plus, of course, there was a lot of soft-core skin in the form of scantily clad females in various stages of seductive dress. School for Sex is even more blatant and the a/v is weaker. The Kino Lorber Blu-ray brings us an interesting curiosity. The films are amusing, and a little erotic, and it has that usual appeal of its grassroots nature - identifying a historical time where the genre was pushing its limits without extending into downright pornography. In another way - it's pretty cute.  I think you have an idea of what this package entails and you can make up your own mind if you'd like to indulge. It's saucy fun...

Gary Tooze

May 11th, 2016

 

About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.

Gary's Home Theatre:

60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD

Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD Player
Momitsu - BDP-899 Region FREE Blu-ray player
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Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

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Gary W. Tooze

 

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